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9600 Wilshire Boulevard

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Coordinates: 34°04′01″N 118°24′15″W / 34.066916°N 118.404141°W / 34.066916; -118.404141
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Saks Fifth Avenue store building
Map
General information
Architectural styleHollywood Regency
Address9600 Wilshire Boulevard, Beverly Hills, California, United States
Coordinates34°04′01″N 118°24′15″W / 34.066916°N 118.404141°W / 34.066916; -118.404141
Current tenantsSaks Fifth Avenue
Opened1938
Renovated1940; 1948
Technical details
Floor area85,900 sq ft (7,980 m2)
Design and construction
Architect(s)John and Donald Parkinson
Architecture firmParkinson and Parkinson
Other designersPaul R. Williams (interior design)
Renovating team
Architect(s)Paul R. Williams
Website
saksfifthavenue.com/locations/s/beverlyhills

The Saks Fifth Avenue store building is a department store located within the Golden Triangle business district of Beverly Hills, California. It has housed a Saks Fifth Avenue department store since its completion in 1938.[1] It is the third-highest performing location in the company, behind the flagship store in New York City and the location in Atlanta and is operated as a second flagship store by parent Hudson's Bay Company.

Architecture

It was designed by the architectural firm Parkinson and Parkinson, with interiors by Paul R. Williams.[2][3] The store opened in 1938. The exterior of the building was designed by the Parkinsons, with the interior completed by Williams in the Hollywood Regency style.[2] David Gebhard and Robert Winter, writing in Los Angeles: An Architectural Guide described the building as having "enough curved surface to suggest that the thirties Streamline Moderne could be elegant".[4] The store was expanded and redesigned by Williams in 1940 and 1948.[5] The store was immediately successful upon opening and it would subsequently expand to almost 74,000 square feet (6,900 m2) and employ 500 people.[5]

Williams's designs for the store marked a departure from traditional department stores by reducing the emphasis on commerciality that foresaw the rise of boutique stores in the 1980s and 1990s. Only a few examples of merchandise were displayed in hidden recesses. The President of Saks Fifth Avenue, Adam Gimbel, said in an interview with the Los Angeles Times that "Each room attempts to create a mood which is in keeping with the merchandise sold there. For example, a Pompeian room done in cool green with appropriate frieze is used for beach and swimming pool costumes and a French provincial room houses informal sports and country clothes The accessories are carried in an oval room done in a Regency spirit".[5]

The individual shipping areas of the store were semi-enclosed which prevented distraction for customers.[2] Williams created an interior reminiscences of his designs for luxurious private residences, with rooms lit by indirect lamps and footlights focused on the clothes.[2] New departments for furs, corsets, gifts and debutante dresses were added in the 1940 expansion.[5]

The Terrace Restaurant, a rooftop restaurant run by Perino's, served customers for several years.[2] It was expanded in the 1940s renovations to provide cover during inclement weather.[5]

Men's store

Saks operates a The Mens Store in an adjacent building at 9634 Wilshire Boulevard.

2020s redevelopment

In June 2022, Hudson's Bay Company announced plans to convert the 9600 Wilshire Boulevard building into a mixed-use development with office, retail, and residential components. By 2023, Saks Fifth Avenue is expected to be relocated into the adjacent 9570 Wilshire Boulevard storefront, which was left vacant by the defunct Barneys New York since February 2020.[6]

The store is featured in the 2005 film Shopgirl. The original novella is set in Neiman Marcus, but Saks Fifth Avenue lobbied the filmmakers to portray their store instead.[7][8]

References

  1. ^ "Saks Fifth Avenue". Time Out. 10 August 2016. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Saks Fifth Avenue". Los Angeles Conservancy. Archived from the original on 30 March 2020. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  3. ^ "Saks Fifth Avenue, Los Angeles, CA". Pacific Coast Architecture Database. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
  4. ^ David Gebhard; Robert Winter (1994). Los Angeles: An Architectural Guide. Gibbs Smith. p. 128. ISBN 978-0-87905-627-8.
  5. ^ a b c d e "Saks Fifth Avenue". Paul Williams Project. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  6. ^ Vincent, Roger (June 23, 2022). "Beverly Hills' historic Saks Fifth Avenue complex set for development into offices and apartments". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
  7. ^ Gladys L. Knight (2014). Pop Culture Places: An Encyclopedia of Places in American Popular Culture [3 volumes]. ABC-CLIO. p. 280. ISBN 978-0-313-39883-4.
  8. ^ Vanity Fair. Vanity Fair Publishing Company. 2004. p. 274.
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